Love them or hate them, the Brussel Sprout is to the Christmas roast what Rudolph is to Santa – you can’t have one without the other!  Converting the sprout sceptic is hard but Jane Lovett’s recipe just might be the game changer…

 

Sizzling Shredded Sprouts with Bacon and Walnuts

Perfect for converting sprout-haters (I have proof!). Easy, quick, vibrant, nutty and delicious!

Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients

340 g (12 oz) Brussels sprouts

6 rashers of streaky bacon, snipped into thin strips

olive oil

a knob of butter

salt and freshly ground black pepper

a handful of walnuts, roughly chopped

walnut oil (optional)

Instructions

1. Slice off any brown bits from the base of the sprouts and shred them using the slicer blade of a food processor. Set aside.
2. Heat a wok or large frying pan and dry-fry the strips of bacon until golden and crispy.
3. Add a little olive oil and a good knob of butter and when hot add the sprouts, a handful at a time, and stir until they have just wilted and turned a vibrant bright green colour. Season generously, then remove from the heat, add the walnuts, an extra knob of butter and a swirl of walnut oil, if using. Serve immediately.

Get-Ahead

• The sprouts can be shredded several days in advance and kept covered in the fridge.
• The bacon can be fried any time on the day and left in the pan until ready to cook the sprouts.

Hints & Tips

• Roughly chopped salted peanuts would be a good alternative to walnuts, with (or without!) a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds
• Vacuum-packed chestnuts crumbled into the sprouts at the last minute, is another tasty alternative.
• This is very good as a side dish, on its own, or with a fried or poached egg on top. A trickle of Sriracha (chilli) sauce over the egg would round it off perfectly!

 

Recipe taken from Jane Lovett’s book The Get-Ahead Cook published by Apicius

Signed copies available HERE

 

 

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